1. Field
The following description relates to an apparatus and method of generating a combined profile, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method of generating a combined profile regarding a profile of a terminal and profiles of content playback devices around the terminal under a network environment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recent developments in information communication technologies have enabled downloading of content by accessing a content providing server through the Internet using a terminal, such as a notebook computer, a personal computer (PC), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a smart phone, and the like, so that a user of the terminal may receive the content.
In this instance, the content providing server may provide only contents adaptable to features of the terminal. The content providing server may create content based on profiles regarding features of the terminal, and may provide the created content.
A variety of methods have been actively studied to describe the profiles regarding the features of the terminal. For example, Composite Capabilities/Preference Profile (CC/PP), User Agent Profile (UAProf), and Wireless Universal Resource FiLe (WURFL) standards may be used to describe the profiles.
CC/PP, created by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), may be used to manage information regarding device capabilities and user preferences. CC/PP is based on a Resource Description Framework (RDF), and is described in the Extensible Markup Language (XML) format. CC/PP includes components such as hardware, software, networks, and the like, and attributes of each component. Each of the attributes may consist of a name and a value, and may have a default value. Accordingly, CC/PP may specify details of features of each component.
Terms used to describe the CC/PP may be defined by a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) in the CC/PP. The CC/PP may be term independent. In other words, the CC/PP may support all terms satisfying an RDF schema, not predetermined terms.
A UAProf created by the Wireless Access Protocol (WAP) Forum may also be used to describe features of a terminal. The UAProf is related to CC/PP, and is based on the RDF. The UAProf defines the following six components as shown in Table 1.
TABLE 1ComponentsDescribed informationMain AttributesHardwarePlatformFeatures of hardwareCPU, Screensize, Keyboard,Vendor, etc.SoftwarePlatformOperating EnvironmentCcppAccept, JavaPlatform,(OE) of deviceOSName, etc.BrowserUAHTML browserBrowserName,DownloadableBrowserApps,etc.NetworkCharacteristicsFeatures of networkSupportedBearers,SecuritySupport, etc.WapCharacteristicsWAP features of deviceWapVersion, WtaiLibraries,etc.PushChracteristicsPush features of devicePush-Accept, Push-MsgSize, etc.
WURFL, as an open source project, may collect information regarding a variety of wireless devices, may analyze features of the wireless devices, and may manage the analyzed features in XML document format. A WURFL XML document based on UAProf contains information regarding at least 7000 devices produced since 2006. WURFL aims to provide as many device features as possible, and to provide everyone around the world with information regarding the device features. Accordingly, WURFL may contain additional device features that are not described in UAProf. WURFL supports the concept of inheritance of device features. The concept of inheritance enables profiles of other devices to be extended, so that it is possible to easily prepare a profile of a new device.
The CC/PP, UAProf, and WURFL standards describe only features of a single terminal currently used by a user, regardless of whether the currently used terminal is connected to other content playback devices around the terminal.
Therefore, there is a demand for a method of describing a combined profile regarding a terminal and content playback devices around the terminal.